Taylor Farms Proudly Sponsors Ag Against Hunger Woman of Year Event

Taylor Farms was a proud sponsor of last week’s annual Ag Against Hunger Agricultural Woman of the Year Recognition Luncheon at the Smith Family Wines Paraiso Home Estate Vineyard.

The 2016 honoree was Cathy Alameda of Hollister, who operates Top Flavor and Sabor Farms with her husband, Tony.  She was cited for her humility and dedication to helping the community.  Cathy’s efforts include spearheading the Ag in the Classroom program and working to provide fresh produce to families of school children in San Benito County, along with work with the San Juan 4H Club and the San Benito County Fair. A breast cancer survivor, Cathy raised $45,000 for the American Cancer Society.

For 23 years, this prestigious award has honored a significant contribution to local agriculture, leadership in the community and advocacy for agriculture by women working within the agricultural industry in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties.

Through the Ag Against Hunger Harvest Program, more than 50 local growers and shippers – including Taylor Farms – contact the organization when there is a surplus of produce. Trucks pick up surplus produce and bring it back to a cooler for a short storage period.  The food then is distributed to food bank partners.

A volunteer program hosted by Ag Against Hunger benefits from the help of over 1,000 generous individuals who believe in the organization’s mission.  Their most popular volunteer activity is gleaning. After a harvest, some produce that is still healthy and edible is left behind. Local growers allow the volunteers to enter their fields to harvest this remaining produce, which is sent to a cooler and then distributed to food banks and food assistance programs.

The Salinas-based group’s members have collected about 242 million pounds of food in its 25-year history.

Taylor Farms Luncheon Attendees

Taylor Farms congratulates Cathy Alameda and Ag Against Hunger for making a real difference in our communities.